In fact, Jiang Zhi saw some birds that had been burned to death by the wildfire when she went down the mountain with Xu Errui.
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Although bird meat is scarce, mosquito meat is still meat, but they come and go in a hurry and we don't have time to pay attention to them.
When Xu Errui heard that his mother was going to collect the birds that had been burned to death, his face turned green.
He thought of Zhao Li's father's burned face down the mountain and couldn't help but feel nauseous again.
Jiang Zhi glared at him: "Don't you want to give your wife more meat! Don't you think about how your old mother needs meat too! If you don't go, I'll go alone, you unfilial son!"
Don't let that kid say something disgusting.
Seeing his mother glaring at him again, Xu Errui instinctively shrank back and obediently said, "I'll go with Mother to pick up the meat!"
The roof burned down and there's nothing to repair it, so finding food is the most important thing.
When they went to collect meat, they naturally had to ask Xiaoman to come along. Qiaoyun also took Qinggangzi to Xiaoman's house, no longer daring to stay home alone.
Xiaoman was busy picking up the unburnt green fruit when she heard that they were going to find the burned wild animals, so she quickly came over.
The first place the three of them looked for was the woods near their home. The trees there were tall, and the dry grass on the ground had been cleared beforehand, so there was no fire.
Some birds were perched in the trees when the thick smoke of the night hit and they were suffocated and fell down.
Birds are social animals, and the three of them found thirty or forty birds after exploring the surrounding mountains and forests.
The birds are small and don't have much meat. After removing the feathers and internal organs, there's only one bite of usable meat left, and even dozens of birds wouldn't be enough to eat.
Jiang Zhi's goal wasn't just to see the dead bird; he was also looking for the rabbit hole.
Compared to birds, finding just one rabbit is enough to make for a good meal.
Moreover, rabbits cannot escape the threat of wildfires by hiding in their burrows.
Rabbits typically have several interconnected burrows for easy escape, creating air convection within them.
There are many entrances; as soon as smoke or fire enters from one of them, the entire area will be filled with smoke.
The rabbit had to escape, or it would suffocate inside.
Moreover, with a fire outside, the chances of running far away are slim.
Sure enough, the search for the rabbit yielded great results; one rabbit escaped and hid in a crevice in the rocks, its fur burned off.
More rabbits died from the suffocation in the burrows. When you dug open the burrows with a hoe, you would find a whole nest of rabbits, big and small, some of them still hairless baby rabbits.
As the search area expanded, more and more prey was found, filling a basket to the brim. There were pheasants that couldn't escape in time, badgers, and some small animals that Jiang Zhi couldn't even recognize.
Some died from the burns, while others survived the burns.
Xiaoman, carrying a pair of tiny rabbits that were just a month old and only half the length of a palm, grinned at Jiang Zhi and said, "Aunt Jiang, can I have these rabbits? Nini complains that they're not fun to play with every day, so I'll give them to her."
Jiang Zhi nodded: "Okay, but do you have a way to feed him?"
There's not even any grass left, so it's very difficult to raise rabbits.
Xiaoman still smiled and said, "As long as it makes Nini happy for a few days, that's enough!"
Nini's mother left home, and her father was like that. Her great-grandparents couldn't smile all day long. Only her uncle still thought about making the child happy. No matter what, the family still cared about each other.
Late at night, the two families gathered together to process the day's harvest.
Xiaoman's grandmother was very experienced in cleaning the stove, and she quickly scraped and cleaned the pile of burnt, charred mess.
According to Xiaoman's grandmother, since everyone ate a chicken during the day, the meat should be smoked and dried for later consumption.
In the past, villagers would occasionally hunt wild game, but they couldn't bear to eat it and would usually ask someone to exchange it for money.
Saving money at all times, storing grain to exchange for money, and getting wives for their sons and grandsons—this is their experience in making a living. In Xiaoman's family, there is an additional method: saving money to buy medicine.
Jiang Zhi said, "Auntie, we don't have much salt at home. We can find meat in the mountains anytime, but we can't find salt. If the meat goes bad, it will be even more of a loss."
Grandpa Xiaoman also said, "Let's feed it to the children! They've been tired these past few days. Let the oxen know how hard they work, and don't be as stingy as before."
He knew that eating only meat in one meal would be too wasteful, but if he didn't eat it, he would have to throw it away, so eating it was better than throwing it away.
Grandma Xiaoman felt bad, but she had no choice but to comply. So, she put half of the meat in a pot to stew and dried the other half to make dried meat.
Today, Qiaoyun also ground oak powder to make thin pancakes, which are chewy and refreshing.
And so, after the chicken soup, the two families began to eat their fill of stewed meat.
Everyone held a flatbread and a large bowl of steaming hot, tender mountain delicacy soup.
There are no seasonings on the mountain, not even scallions, so Xiaoman's grandmother uses pickled ginger and pickled chili peppers according to the farmers' custom to remove the fishy smell. A meaty aroma with a salty fragrance fills the simple shed.
Xiaoman and Xu Errui practically devoured the food. They were both under twenty years old and at the age where they didn't know what fullness meant.
Normally, we can only drink some gruel to fill our stomachs in the village; we've never had a time like today where we can eat meat to our hearts' content.
Qiaoyun ate with a beaming smile; she was truly in for a treat.
She was always given priority when there was food at home. While others who fled the disaster lost weight, she actually started to gain weight during her pregnancy.
Jiang Zhi skewered some rabbit meat on thin twigs and grilled it over charcoal. Since there was no seasoning, she sprinkled it with fine salt.
The rabbit meat was roasted until golden brown and smelled delicious. However, the wild meat was too firm and lacked the oiling process, so it was dry and you had to chew it with your mouth crooked.
Nini pinched a bird's leg in her hand and tore off the thin layer of meat with her tiny teeth. The smooth meat was even tastier than chicken, and she squinted her eyes happily.
This time there was plenty of meat, so Xu Dazhu not only drank soup but also ate meat, along with Qinggang pancakes. One meal was enough for him to eat for several days.
A thin body nourished by oil and water will look much better after just one full meal.
The two families ate so much that their faces were shiny with oil.
Errui patted his bulging belly and couldn't help but sigh, "This is the first time in my life I've eaten so much meat that I feel like throwing up!"
Jiang Zhi glanced at him: This silly son, stop talking! She was also feeling a bit nauseous from eating.
Xiaoman had already loosened her belt several times, and now, still savoring the last sip of soup from the bottom of the pot, she said firmly, "Aunt Jiang, I'll go earlier tomorrow, so that other wild animals don't pick up the meat!"
He is now a big fan of Jiang Zhi, feeling that the methods Jiang Auntie mentioned are really useful, such as avoiding the wildfire earlier and picking up meat now.
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Okay, you can go and pick it up again tomorrow. I have other things to do. Just be careful not to go into the fire."
It took her a daytime walk in the mountains to get a clear picture of the state and scale of the wildfire.
This wildfire, which appeared to be a single fire, actually originated from two sources: one in the village and the other in a shack at the foot of the mountain.
The fire in the village burned another mountain peak, which is why the fire was first discovered in the village but no smoke was smelled.
The area that was directly attacked was later ignited by bandits who committed murder and arson.
The wind was strong and the straight line was short, so the fire went directly to the top, and coincidentally, Xiaoman's family and I were right in the middle of that line of fire.
It was pitch black and thick smoke, and we couldn't even find our way. We were so helpless because we didn't dare to run around. If it had been daytime, we could have found the right direction to avoid it.
Apart from the burned area that is more than 200 meters wide, the rest of the forest was unaffected. The only concern is that the fire on another mountain peak, which is still burning, might spread over if it continues to burn for a while.
Tomorrow, Xiaoman and the others want to dig a few more rabbit holes, and Jiangzhi lets them go and do it.
Although the shed was burned down and needs to be repaired quickly, we can only collect meat for a day or two. If it goes on too long, the animals that died from the fire will rot, so filling our stomachs is the priority.
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